COVID-19 RESPONSE

Beaverton is at a crossroads: successful recovery from COVID-19 or prolonged suffering for our small businesses and residents. Now, more than ever, we need a person with experience and compassion serving on our city council. That person is Ashley Hartmeir-Prigg. As former President of Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation District (THPRD), Ashley led as Chair of the Board from the early days of the pandemic. When facilities closed due to COVID-19, Ashley encouraged opening a temporary shelter for people experiencing homelessness. And when schools closed, THPRD offered school time programming to help with distance learning. 

For over a year, our world, our nation, and the Beaverton community has been dealing with COVID-19. This pandemic has radically disrupted the last year of our lives. It has put our social lives on pause and has hindered the education of our children. For many of us, the last year has also meant the loss of a family member, a job, or even a business. We, as a city, must do everything in our power to bring this pandemic, and the suffering it has brought along with it, to an end. 

As a Beaverton City Councilor, Ashley will always:

  • Listen to science and public health experts

  • Prioritize the safety of Beaverton residents

  • Ensure equity in all public health solutions

Direct response to the covid-19 pandemic

Ashley’s COVID-19 response is centered around three goals:

  • Protect — Beaverton residents from contracting COVID-19. This means getting everyone easy access to regular testing so people do not unintentionally spread COVID-19.

  • Vaccinate — Beaverton residents by working with local, state, and federal agencies to ensure every person who wants a vaccine can have easy access.

  • Support — Beaverton’s restaurants and local businesses during this difficult time.

Coronavirus in Numbers (Numbers as of Sept. 7, 2021)

  • Washington County has had over 33,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and tragically 269 deaths.

  • Over 370,000 Washington County residents have received the COVID-19 vaccination, leading the state in COVID-19 vaccinations with just over 80% of the population vaccinated.

The City of Beaverton’s Limited Influence on Vaccinations and Public Health Policy

While the city of Beaverton does not operate COVID-19 vaccination sites nor have much say in public health policy, Ashley will continue to advocate on behalf of Beaverton residents on the county and state level. However, Ashley will not make promises she cannot keep and is committed to transparency and honesty about Beaverton’s limited influence on public health policy.


To Address the Need for Mass Vaccination Against the COVID-19, Ashley will:

  • Coordinate with local, state, and federal health agencies to focus Oregon’s vaccination program on communities who still need vaccines and help our residents get easy access to testing.

  • Work with Washington County Health Officials to ensure that all Beaverton residents, regardless of age or ability, are able to schedule and attend vaccination appointments.

  • Encourage all eligible persons to get vaccinated by highlighting the benefits of being vaccinated and the vaccine’s safety, particularly now that the Pfizer vaccination has full FDA approval.

Equity in Our Response

While normalcy is a promising thing to look forward to, it is important to remember that this pandemic has not created that many new problems, instead it has simply exacerbated the already existing inequities in our society. Whether it is disproportionately worse medical outcomes or the inability to attain loans for small businesses, COVID-19 has not impacted us all the same. Not only do we need to keep equity at the forefront of our future policies, but we must also make sure that maintaining equity is a key factor in our recovery from COVID 19.

  • Ashley will work with communities that have lower vaccination rates to help understand their hesitancy and ensure easy access to the vaccines should they choose to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

  • Ashley believes that whether or not you receive a vaccine should not be contingent on your technical ability nor your access to a computer, Ashley is grateful that the county has provided many opportunities to receive a vaccination without an appointment, and will help let the community know of their options for getting the COVID-19 vaccine.

Supporting Our Local Businesses During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Our nation currently faces an economic crisis. With 100,000 small businesses permanently closing their doors nationally, the future for many local businesses may look grim. The city of Beaverton must do everything in its power to protect our small businesses that define this city.

To Support Beaverton’s Local Businesses During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Ashley will:

  • Introduce a city ordinance that would make it illegal for delivery apps to charge restaurants a delivery fee of more than 10%. Since the beginning of this pandemic, food delivery apps backed by large corporations have exploited our restaurants by hiking their delivery fees to upwards of 30%. These additional costs make it impossible for our local businesses to turn a profit. Cities like Portland, New York, and San Francisco have approved similar policies. Enacting this ordinance is necessary to help our restaurants keep their doors open, and would last at least until the end of this crisis. Additionally, the city can encourage consumers to go directly to the restaurant to eliminate delivery fees altogether.    

  • Work to increase Beaverton business grants so that the city can support more restaurants and small businesses during this financially difficult time. 

  • Promote local Beaverton businesses by launching a “shop local” social media campaign. The city of Beaverton has hundreds of followers on its social media platforms, promoting small businesses on these accounts could prove effective in channeling new business.